Jan 22, 2005
Job done, SAF leaves Meulaboh
Leave-taking includes joining locals to mark Hari Raya Haji and wreath-laying at sea
By David Boey
ABOARD RSS ENDURANCE
OFF MEULABOH - THE Singapore Armed Forces bid farewell to Meulaboh at two ceremonies yesterday.
FRIENDS' FAREWELL: As the SAF ended its relief mission and headed home yesterday, soldiers of the TNI garrison in Meulaboh under the command of Colonel Geerhan Lantara said their goodbyes at the beach area where the Republic's troops first landed on Jan 1 to help the victims of the tsunami disaster. -- TERENCE TAN
Personnel from the SAF's Humanitarian Assistance Support Group aboard RSS Endurance and RSS Endeavour joined residents for a dawn ceremony to mark Hari Raya Haji and, during another, said goodbye at a mass grave for victims of the deadly earthquake and tsunami which struck on Dec 26.
The two 141m-long Landing Ship Tanks (LST) should arrive back at Changi Naval Base on Monday morning.
About 700 personnel from the SAF and Singapore Civil Defence Force, together with some 60 volunteers from the Singapore Red Cross, left the west Sumatra coastal town aboard RSS Endurance and RSS Endeavour after helping the Indonesian authorities and the Indonesian Armed Forces (TNI) with their earthquake and tsunami relief operations.
Their initial efforts helped pave the way for more than 30 humanitarian organisations from around the world to take over relief work in Meulaboh.
Though they all look forward to seeing friends and family after a long spell in Aceh, some SAF soldiers said they would treasure memories of their mission.
Private Mohamad Fadli bin Mohamad Noor, 23, a full-time national serviceman who is a storeman with the 7th Singapore Infantry Brigade, said: 'If there's a chance to stay, I'll stay.
'For me, my parents are there in Singapore but many people here have lost their families and I'm glad I was here to help them.'
Yesterday marked Pte Fadli's first Hari Raya Haji away from home, but he had no need to feel alone as he joined Indonesians for prayers just after dawn at a TNI camp called Posko.
About 70 Muslim personnel from the two ships and 30 SAF servicemen led by Colonel Tan Chuan-Jin, commander of the Singapore relief team in Meulaboh, joined about 1,000 Meulaboh residents for the observance of their Hari Raya Haji ceremonies.
Col Tan presented 20 head of livestock - a mix of bulls and water buffalo - to Meulaboh residents on behalf of the Singapore relief team.
One bull was slaughtered at Posko during the sacrificial rites of the korban ceremony and the meat was later distributed to Meulaboh residents.
Private Zulhilmi bin Ahmad Johari, 21, an NSF storeman with the 7th Singapore Infantry Brigade, also spent his first Hari Raya Haji away from his family yesterday.
He said: 'I feel proud that I did something worthwhile in Meulaboh and I am looking forward to seeing my family again.'
Pte Zulhilmi and more than 400 personnel aboard the Endurance have been away from Singapore since Dec 31.
The Endeavour left Singapore on Jan 14 carrying some 200 personnel and the Singapore Red Cross volunteers and arrived off Meulaboh last Sunday.
A third LST, RSS Persistence, left for Singapore earlier this week.
Morning prayers at Posko, which is about 3km inland and was not affected by the killer waves, were held on the camp's soccer field to allow as many soldiers and residents as possible to take part.
Later in the day, about 200 personnel from the two ships joined local residents for a memorial service at a mass grave at the tip of a promontory on which Meulaboh's downtown area was built.
Much of the downtown area was levelled on Dec 26 and nearly a third of its 40,000 residents were killed in the disaster.
Col Tan and Colonel Geerhan Lantara, the commander of the TNI garrison in Meulaboh, each laid a floral wreath at the gravesite and then bade each other farewell.
The Singapore relief team returned to their ships aboard fast landing craft.
Aboard the Endurance and Endeavour, hundreds of SAF servicemen waited on deck.
As the two ships passed the tip of the promontory, floral wreaths were tossed off the Navy ships by Lieutenant-Colonel Li Lit Siew, commanding officer of RSS Endurance, and Major Yap Chee Eng, commanding officer of RSS Endeavour.
An order was given and each soldier saluted the victims of the disaster as the Endurance and the Endeavour each set a course for Singapore, their humanitarian mission accomplished.